Jackdaw's Breeding Group

Fairlight Jackdaw
(Three Ring Just Jack x Fairlight Duckie)

JackieD is a black and white smirslet ram lamb born this past Spring. He is a pretty little fellow, and I finally got some good photos of him, with his head up for a change. He is a good natured little fellow, and I hope he will produce some spots for me. His conformation is nice, and I think he can add in some 'bone' to the lambs. He is a small but sturdy little fellow. I'm not sure yet what his fleece type will be, possibly double coated, or just as possibly intermediate. Jackie has four ewes, three of which will be staying here. As soon as I break up breeding groups Jackie and Selena will be going to live over at Prosperine, which is not too far down the road. He is out of Just Jack, a moorit and white flecket ram with a nice intermediate fleece and Duckie, a solid black double coated ewe. Again with this combination of bloodlines, I'm hoping that there will be some spots.

Fairlight Selena
(Minwawe Redford x Fairlight Blackberry Winter)

Selena is three and half this year, and has not lambed despite being put with a ram the last two years. Because of space restrictions, I can't keep everybody, so I hoped to sell her to a fiber home. She has a gorgeous fleece, that shears out impressively. Earlier this year, I was able to sell her to a fiber/pet home and she will also be going with Jackie to Jama's. I'm hoping she does settle to JackieD as I think she could produce some lovely lambs. We decided that putting her with Jackie when he was separated from the ewe flock would be a good thing. He would have company and she might possibly breed and settle with a longer season with the ram.

Locksfield Willow
(Fletcher Sundance x Fletcher Limmerick)

Willow is 8 1/2 now, and had the year off from lambing last year. She is a very loving, wonderful mother, so this year she gets in the breeding group. Willow has produced many lambs for me, but only three ewes. I would love to get a solid (non Ag) ewe lamb from her. She produces lovely fleeces and beautiful lambs. She has an intermediate fleece, and was a wild flecket at birth. She is also Jeffrey's dam. She is also pretty pudgy. :-) Willow was the first ewe I picked out and bought for my Shetland flock. She hasn't ever warmed up to me too much, but neither is she a wild snot, so we co-exist peacefully. I'm not expecting Willow to give me solid fleckets, but I'd happily just take a solid ewe lamb from her.

Fairlight Luna
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Willow)

Luna is a lovely little musket ewe, who is 3 1/2. Luna is a small ewe, with a lovely, intermediate fleece. Luna was a wild Ag flecket as a lamb--probably one of the most beautiful lambs born here. Luna is much like her mother, Willow (who she hangs around with most of the time), not overly friendly, just content to hang around on the outskirts. Like her mom she will come up for cookies, and is probably a little less suspicious of me. Luna produced Orion, a lovely yuglet sokket musket ram her first year to lamb. This year she produced a lovely solid moorit ram, Conway. I'm really hoping that she will produce some spots for me---and hope just as hard that they won't be Ag! If I can't have a non Ag ewe lamb out of Willow, I would settle for one out of her daughter.

Fairlight Rosemary
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Tabitha)

Lastly, but never least is my dear Rosemary. This is the friendliest, sweetest ewe on the place. She has a home here for the rest of her life, if it's up to me. She has a nice intermediate fawn fleece, but is somewhat cow hocked and her tail goes from 'okay' to 'oh no' depending on the season. This year she produced two lovely, lovely little lambs, with gorgeous fleeces. Rosetta, her daughter was one of the lambs I retained. Her fleece is so beautiful---lustrous, crimpy and a wonderful fawn color. I'm not sure Rosemary will produce color for me, as she had solid lambs this year from a flecket ram. Her sire is a smirslet/sokket and she is out of a solid moorit ewe.

And those are the breeding groups for this year. Willow's bloodline figures very prominently--she is dam of Jeffrey, great grandam to Chickie, dam of Luna, and grandam of Selena. Shandrew Rouen, my oldest ewe (she'll be 10 next spring) is also featured heavily---she is dam of Lark, grandam of Chickie, and grandam of Jackdaw.

Five more months and a bit, and we'll know the results!
(p.s...if the sheep look a little stressed, it was because I was basically stalking them to try and get some decent photos!)